MLB Power Rankings Week Of 02/12/2008
Rk Team Last Wk Rise/Fall High/Low Comment
1 Tigers 10 (+9) 1/10 No team had a better off-season, and for that reason the Tigers occupy the top spot. While trading for Miguel Cabrera dominated the headlines, the shrewd additions of SS Edgar Renteria and innings-eater Dontrelle Willis are what put the Tigers over the top. The biggest issues of spring will be staying healthy and figuring out where to bat Renteria, who after hitting .332 last season, is tentatively slated to bat seventh. Wow!
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2 Indians 2 - 1/6 Projecting the Tribe to take another step forward isnít hard when considering this is a team heavy on upside. Thereís no telling how good talents like pitcher Fausto Carmona, 1B Ryan Garko and SS Jhonny Peralta can become. And that says nothing about entrenched stars like OF Grady Sizemore and ace C.C. Sabathia. The biggest concern of spring is nailing down who will be the fifth starter.
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3 Red Sox 1 (-2) 1/6 The champs sat idle this off-season, retaining the talent on hand and shunning all opportunities to add outside help. Who can argue with that strategy when youíre already No. 1? That strategy worked until Curt Schillingís shoulder blew up before a spring-training toss was ever thrown. Now what? The rotation doesnít look overly strong and the offense certainly doesnít project better than those owned by the Indians, Tigers or Yankees.
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4 Diamondbacks 5 (+1) 2/14 The Diamondbacks may have arrived a year early last season, but thatís what often happens when thereís a boatload of endless upside on the roster. So what makes Arizona worthy of this ranking head into the season? Please consider that last yearís success was done primarily without Randy Johnson and with Dan Haren still in Oakland. Both will start the season as part of the rotation, which means the D-backs take another big step forward.
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5 Angels 4 (-1) 1/10 Fans had the entire off-season to project how big the Angelsí winning margin in the AL West would be. But all of that changed when the Mariners traded for Erik Bedard. Now things may not be so easy in the West. The Angels still deserve the nod simply because this is a team with very few holes and a solid mix of veterans and youth with upside.
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6 Yankees 3 (-3) 1/20 It was a surprisingly quiet off-season in the Bronx. The Yanks were mentioned in several potential deals, but unlike years past, nothing actually happened. The organization is doing the right thing by building from within now that the strategy of being the leagueís most active off-season team has proven futile. For a team thatís supposedly in transition, this season wonít be too painful.
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7 Dodgers 16 (+9) 7/18 This should be one of the most interesting camps to watch as Joe Torre and Co. get familiarized with what was a split clubhouse last season. There are also several position battles in key places, like third base where Nomar Garciaparra may not have enough left in the tank to fend off prospect Andy LaRoche. Another battle to watch is in the outfield where the Dodgers have Juan Pierre, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp vying for the two spots flanking Andruw Jones. And what about Jason Schmidt? There have been no setbacks in his return from shoulder surgery, but fans should keep their fingers crossed nonetheless.
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8 Mets 12 (+4) 2/12 Trading for Johan Santana has energized the organization heading into spring. Good thing, because the lingering effects of last seasonís collapse may have dominated the atmosphere otherwise. Instead, the vibe will be good and the biggest issue may actually be whether Pedro Martinez has regained his pre-injury form.
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9 Blue Jays 14 (+5) 9/26 If you view the glass as half full in Toronto, youíve got a team with a solid rotation, a major defensive improvement at third in Scott Rolen and a burgeoning superstar in OF Alex Rios. If itís half empty, then questions like Rolenís bat and closer B.J. Ryanís health keep you from thinking the Jays taking a big step forward. Weíre leaning half full, which means this is your AL dark horse.
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10 Rockies 7 (-3) 7/28 Like the Diamondbacks, the Rockies may have given fans an early glimpse last season of what to expect for years to come. The old style of thinking that pitching will ultimately do in the Rox has to be discarded. Although it would have been nice to see the team upgrade its rotation this off-season. Nonetheless, with a perennial MVP candidate like Matt Holliday and a rising star in Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies remain viable contenders.
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The Giants are the worst club in baseball. #26 is quite generous. They have good pitching, but there will be Triple-A squads with better offenses this season. At least teams like the Royals, Nationals, Marlins and Orioles have some fine everyday position players to build around.

Looking at that list, I think every team in the top 22 has a shot (with the exception of the Rays with their tough division) at a World Series title this year. 23-30 are the ones who are toast at the start of spring training.

I think they are VERY favorable with Arizona. I don't get the fascination behind the DBacks. They get rid of a stud closer in Valverde, and get a good #2, but thats it. Randy Johnson I don't think will have very much, if anything, left in the tank. And now they are they #1 NL team? I just don't see it yet.
They are right about the Rockies maybe getting another starting pitcher, but they are going to have a healthy(hopefully) Aaron Cook, and upcomers in Jimenez and Morales in the rotation this year.

I think they are VERY favorable with Arizona. I don't get the fascination behind the DBacks. They get rid of a stud closer in Valverde, and get a good #2, but thats it. Randy Johnson I don't think will have very much, if anything, left in the tank. And now they are they #1 NL team? I just don't see it yet.

#4 is a bit generous. The D-Backs did play over their heads last year as they were outscored by opponents during the regular season.

The young players are the fascination with the Diamondbacks. Chris Young, Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, Justin Upton, Miguel Montero and Mark Reynolds are still in the growth stage of their careers and it's easy to assume a good number of them are only going to get better.

Valverde is a loss, no sugar coating that, but their bullpen has four quality righties in Brandon Lyon, Tony Pena (who is exciting to watch), Chad Qualls and Juan Cruz.

Here's a name to remember, Max Scherzer. A pitcher with the swagger, mindset and stuff to have a Jonathan Papelpon type of impact if Arizona slots him in the bullpen. I like him less as a starter, but he's tailormade to be a closer or two inning setup guy.

The Giants are the worst club in baseball. #26 is quite generous. They have good pitching, but there will be Triple-A squads with better offenses this season. At least teams like the Royals, Nationals, Marlins and Orioles have some fine everyday position players to build around.

Looking at that list, I think every team in the top 22 has a shot (with the exception of the Rays with their tough division) at a World Series title this year. 23-30 are the ones who are toast at the start of spring training.

I can't believe they put my Pirates @ # 28.....laugh all you want, but I think that staff jells this year and Bay/Sanchez/LaRoache/Bastista/Wilson and even that lazy fat slug Paulino start hitting like they supposedly can.

Mark my words....this is the year the Buccos turn a corner and start building for real.

I dont think Tigers are top notch when you put Willis as Innings eater. They werent having much problem anyways in that department. Yes, they are going to be a monster but having them and Cleveland top dogs as they play each other a ton is still making one of them a wild card contender. Is this the year the Yanks dont make the playoffs? As for my Angels, I dont think Bedard is going to make enough impact on the Angels. We countered with a prett y good pitcher from the White Sox in Garland and not to mention more than enough bats in the outfield with Torii Hunter. I am not sure how the Rockies will continue their awesome September but I think the rankings are what it is for the whole year. It seems teams have trouble on that continued pace the next year like my Angels of 03 and Tigers of 07.

I can't believe they put my Pirates @ # 28.....laugh all you want, but I think that staff jells this year and Bay/Sanchez/LaRoache/Bastista/Wilson and even that lazy fat slug Paulino start hitting like they supposedly can.

Mark my words....this is the year the Buccos turn a corner and start building for real.

What do you think the Buccos should do with Stephen Pearce? He hit 31 HR in the minors last year and he has nowhere to play with Bay/Nady at the corner OF spots and LaRoche at 1B. Would you like to see them trade a corner to get better somewhere else?

What do you make of the glut of center fielders? Their top prospect Andrew McCutchen is a center fielder with more tools than a hardware store, but he needs more development time, hit .257 in Double-A last year. It seems like they want to hand the job to Nyjer Morgan who gets on-base, plays good defense and can wreak havoc on the base paths, he reminds me of Dave Roberts in many ways. But I think Nate McLouth is the better player of the two. He is a smart player who goes all-out and does a lot of things Morgan can do plus hit for power. McLouth just needs to bring his average up and cut down on some of his strikeouts.

The starting rotation is not the sexiest but it consists of some good command hurlers. It can get the job done if the Pirates score enough runs and the defense steps up.

What do you think the Buccos should do with Stephen Pearce? He hit 31 HR in the minors last year and he has nowhere to play with Bay/Nady at the corner OF spots and LaRoche at 1B. Would you like to see them trade a corner to get better somewhere else?

Well, given that Nady was and probably still is on the block, I wouldn't be too surprised to see Pearce by the AS break. Bay almost "Walkered" his way out of town as well, but he's since shut his mouth and recommitted to the team after buying into the "new attitude" of the club....who knows.

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What do you make of the glut of center fielders? Their top prospect Andrew McCutchen is a center fielder with more tools than a hardware store, but he needs more development time, hit .257 in Double-A last year. It seems like they want to hand the job to Nyjer Morgan who gets on-base, plays good defense and can wreak havoc on the base paths, he reminds me of Dave Roberts in many ways. But I think Nate McLouth is the better player of the two. He is a smart player who goes all-out and does a lot of things Morgan can do plus hit for power. McLouth just needs to bring his average up and cut down on some of his strikeouts.

McCutchen is just not ready yet, as you say. Expect a platoon of Morgan & McLouth, just like the latter half of last year with the occasional Chris Duffy appearance

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The starting rotation is not the sexiest but it consists of some good command hurlers. It can get the job done if the Pirates score enough runs and the defense steps up.

BTW, the Reds are my sleeper in the NL Central.

I'm really liking the starting staff, especially with a Jeff Andrews as pitching coach (the same one most of these guys had in the minors) I fully expect Duke & Maholm to regain the forms that had the team drooling when they first came up to the club. I'm really excited to see what a Gorzelanny, Snell, Maholm, Duke and Morris rotation can do if firing on all cylinders.
The Pen is a bit of a question but Marte/Grabow and Capps are rock solid as the setups and closer.

Maybe I'm drinking the bathwater here (and you'll get plenty of folks to agree with you on that one) but I'm taking my boys as a NL Central sleeper this year...dammit, there's just too much young talent there to fail every freakin' year and I'm thinking this is the year it all gets turned around.

Hogan,
it has got to be tough to be a Pirates fan since Bonds and Bonilla left. Thank God you have the Broncos.

I didn't care for either of those two guys anyways....you have to remember John that I was a life long Expos fan and was with Montreal until they moved...you know the credo: "Till death or relocation do you part".

I signed on with the Buccos after they moved to DC because my crew was going down to the Burgh for a series every year since 97 and they grew on me, so I missed the Leyland chain smoking years.

I love McCutchen, though. He could be a 20-30 guy if everything works out. The Pirates have pushed him aggressively up the ladder and he has held his own. He takes his pitches, works the count, definitely could be a leadoff guy or #2 hitter. I think he'll hit .280 or better in the big leagues. With his quick wrists, he has the ability to make adjustments in a millisecond and put good wood on ball. McCutchen just needs to cut down on the strikeouts and develop his power.

Here are four videos I shot of McCutchen out in the Arizona Fall League this past winter

What do you think the Buccos should do with Stephen Pearce? He hit 31 HR in the minors last year and he has nowhere to play with Bay/Nady at the corner OF spots and LaRoche at 1B. Would you like to see them trade a corner to get better somewhere else?

It would be nice if LaRoche could actually start hitting before June one of these seasons.

It would be nice if LaRoche could actually start hitting before June one of these seasons.

Tell me about it. From what I read in the Post Gaz, he's actually doing the Cutler/Marshall/Shef thing and started his workouts insanely early this year to prevent this tendency of his....we'll see if it works or not.

I think his funky windup will make him effective the first couple times through the new league. Biggest loss for him is he doesn't get to bat anymore.

They were actually talking about that the other day on the radio that he won't be able to bat and he won't like that.

I don't know why but I can see Willis and being pretty decent this year. I can see him being like 13-8 with a low 4 era. He will sort of be like Mike Lowell and be good eventhough they each just thrown in to make the deal work.

Totally stunning, rockin' great news out of Pirate City ala Pirates.com:

The Pirates today announced they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Ian Snell on a five year contract, the first three guaranteed with club options for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Snell, 26, led the club in ERA (3.76), strikeouts (177) and innings pitched (208.0) during the 2007 campaign while making a team-high 32 starts in his second full season. He also averaged 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, ranking him 10th among all NL pitchers.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Ian Snell that gives us the ability to keep him in a Pirates uniform at least through the 2012 season," said GM Neal Huntington.
"His performance over the past two seasons ranks him among the best young starters in the game and he will play a crucial role in our success."

Nice

Also news for Bronco LB 52 regarding Steve Pearce. He's been sent down to AAA for more seasoning defensively for his new OF position. The general feeling is while he's outperformed Nady and has no issue offensively, the D in the OF needs work plus it gives the team time to shop Nady or even Bay as well. You also have to remember that Pearce hasn't had a full season above A ball yet. Nevertheless, I expect Pearce in the Burgh by the All Star Break.

My Boys looked pretty good today against Cano, Matsui (or was that Damon? They look alike so it's hard for me to really tell) and a cast of Yankee scrub players. Maholm had a decent day, nice hits all around....it's the type of day that breeds optimisim for us long downtrodden Bucco fans.

BTW, for all you fantasy types out there (as I know I'm the only Pirates fan on the board) hold off on Freddie Sanchez for now. His surgically repaired shoulder is inflamed and he's being checked out tomorrow.